U.S. Department of Justice
 
ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EST
BJS SUNDAY, MAY 15,
1994                                202-307-0784
 
RECORD NUMBER OF HANDGUN CRIMES--NEARS ONE MILLION A YEAR
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The number of non-fatal crimes committed
with a handgun rose to a record level during 1992, the
Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
announced today. Handguns were used in an estimated 917,500
non-fatal crimes...

Violent Offenders Increasingly Likely to be Armed

U.S. Department of Justice
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                    BJS
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1994                     202-307-0784
 
VIOLENT OFFENDERS INCREASINGLY LIKELY TO BE ARMED
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Violent offenders are increasingly
likely to be armed, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)
said today.  While the overall violent crime rate decreased
during the last decade, the rate of offenses committed with
pistols and...

Handguns Used in More Than One Million Violent Crimes, The Use of Semi-Automatic Guns In Murders Is Increasing

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EDT                             BJS 
SUNDAY, JULY 9, 1995                                 202-307-0784

HANDGUNS USED IN MORE THAN ONE MILLION VIOLENT
CRIMES

THE USE OF SEMI-AUTOMATIC GUNS IN MURDERS IS
INCREASING
                                
     WASHINGTON, D.C.--About 1.3 million U.S. residents faced an
assailant armed with a...

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT 5 P.M. EDT         BJS
THURSDAY APRIL 11, 1996          202/307-0784

ONE-QUARTER OF THE CRIME VICTIMS WHO ARE SHOT
ARE YOUNG BLACK MALES

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A federal study of non-
fatal firearm injuries from crime shows that
almost 90 percent of such victims were male, 59
percent were black and 49 percent were from 15 to
24 years...

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

ADVANCE FOR RELEASE AT NOON EDT              BJS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1997         202/633-3047

BRADY ACT BACKGROUND CHECKS PREVENT 173,000
ILLEGAL HANDGUN PURCHASES SINCE FEBRUARY 1994
IMPLEMENTATION
                                
Handgun Figure is Subset of More Than 250,000
Firearm Sales Blocked Since February 1994          
                                          
     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In its first analysis of
a subset of the estimated 250,000 illegal firearm
sales blocked by the Brady Act...

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

EMBARGOED UNTIL 4:30 P.M. EDT                          BJS
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8,  2000                      202/307-0784                  
    
  
FIREARMS ASSAULT INJURIES AND MURDERS FELL BETWEEN 1993 AND 1997

  WASHINGTON, D.C.   The number of gunshot wounds from
any type of crime fell nearly 40 percent during the five-year period
from 1993 through 1997, according to a new comprehensive Justice
Department report.  The Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics
(BJS) cites...

More Than 200,000 Firearms Applications Rejected in 1999
Defendants Charged with Federal Firearms Offenses Increased from 1998 to 1999

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Approximately 536,000 of the more than 22.2 million individual applications to purchase or pawn firearms have been rejected based on federal, state or local laws since the inception of the Brady Act...

EIGHTEEN PERCENT OF STATE PRISONERS COMMITTED THEIR CRIMES WHILE ARMED

Nine Percent of State Prisoners Fired Their Weapons During the Offense

WASHINGTON, D.C. - About 18 percent of state prisoners and 15 percent of federal prisoners reported in 1997 that they were armed when they committed the offense for which they were...